Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food

• 358 Laimonas Noreika - From FinTech to Farms: bridging the €60B loan gap for Europe's small farms

  A conversation with Laimonas Noreika, founder of HeavyFinance, about providing loans to farmers, bringing innovation to the traditionally stagnant agri-loan sector (some numbers: over €70M loaned to farmers and over 13,000 individual investors have invested through them). The profitability of regenerative agriculture isn't just a theory—it's backed by hard data from hundreds of thousands of hectares across Eastern Europe. According to Laimonas, the financial case for regenerative farming methods is compelling, showing roughly 20% higher profits compared to conventional approaches, even without factoring in potential carbon credit revenue.Traditional banking institutions have created a €60 billion annual financing gap for small and medium-sized European farms, which means we need institutional investors. Some, like the European Investment Fund, have invested through HeavyFinance. And why aren’t banks stepping in? Because small farmers don’t fit their criteria well. So, we need new fintech solutions and scale. Despite agriculture presenting lower default risks than many other industries, banks avoid these loans because of regulatory requirements that penalize them when farmers experience seasonal payment delays. This financing gap has slowed the transition to more sustainable and profitable farming methods, particularly in Eastern Europe's breadbasket regions where soil organic carbon levels have plummeted from approximately 150 tons per hectare historically to just 30 tons today.HeavyFinance bridges this gap with an innovative approach: providing interest-free loans to farmers transitioning to regenerative practices, particularly for purchasing no-till seeders and implementing cover cropping systems. Instead of charging interest, they take a percentage of future carbon credits generated by improved farming practices. This creates a powerful incentive system where farmers access needed capital without interest payments while simultaneously improving soil health, reducing input costs, and increasing crop resilience.More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/laimonas-noreika.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================👩🏻‍💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE htThoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more here Get your tickets here, regular tickets are sold until Feb 1st https://2025.ai4soilhealth.eu/ https://foodhub.nl/en/opleidingen/your-path-forward-in-regenerative-food-and-agriculture/ Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

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• 357 Kiira Heymann - From Non-GMO to Non-ultra-processed: everyone has the right to know what’s in their food

  A conversation with Kiira Heymann, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Non-GMO Project and the Food Integrity Collective. After the success of the Non-GMO Project in the U.S., which is now featured on almost 63,000 products, the team is launching the Non-Ultra-Processed Food verification. In this conversation, we discuss why—why introduce another label? And why is it so important for the food sector to focus on increasing consumers' capacity to demand more from their food system, rather than just adding another label?This isn't just another label—it's a carefully considered intervention designed to reconnect people with their food in profound ways. When 70% of American store shelves hold ultra-processed products engineered with ingredients banned in other countries, the stakes couldn't be higher. What makes this effort particularly fascinating is how it challenges the very foundation of food certification itself. Rather than creating another "shortcut to trust", the team is exploring how to eliminate the need for certifications entirely by rebuilding true transparency in our food system. Their research shows 81% of North Americans are concerned about questionable ingredients in their food, yet only 17% feel knowledgeable about the topic—a gap this initiative aims to close.Beyond ingredients, this movement addresses the cognitive impact of ultra-processed foods. Studies show these products can significantly impair brain function in as little as 30 days, creating a troubling cycle where the very foods engineered to be addictive are simultaneously diminishing our capacity to make better choices. By helping consumers understand and avoid ultra-processed foods, the certification offers a pathway toward better physical and mental wellbeing.Currently in its pilot phase with 20 pioneering brands, the non-UPFs verification program aims to launch products by fall 2025. The certification represents more than just another shopping guide—it's an invitation to experience the profound difference real food makes in how we feel, think, and connect with our world.More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/kiira-heymann.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================👩🏻‍💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/📚 JOIN OUR VIDEO COURSE: https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/course/💪🏻 SUPPORT OUR WORK Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more here Get your tickets here, regular tickets are sold until Feb 1st https://2025.ai4soilhealth.eu/ Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

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• 356 Dimitri Tsitos - Making regenerative intensive tree crops profitable

  A deep dive into the world of intensive—or super-intensive—tree crops, particularly olives and almonds with Dimitri Tsitos, co-founder of Agrosystemic, the Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast, the Arbo-Innova project and Mazi Farm. In Portugal, the sector is booming—highly profitable yet highly destructive—due to its high- input, high-output nature, with heavy reliance on fertilizers and chemicals.This raises the question: can there be another way? That's exactly what Dimitri and his team have been researching over the past few years—on real farms, running large-scale regenerative plots alongside conventional ones. The bad news? It's not easy. It demands a systematic shift in machinery, protocols, and inputs. But the good news is the results are extremely promising: much higher quality olive oil, only a slight drop in production, significantly better price points, lower costs from day one, and biodiversity that bounces back remarkably fast.It's a booming industry that, like CAFO factory farms for animal protein, is reaching its limits in terms of public acceptance, climate risks, biodiversity loss, quality concerns, and rising input costs. But don't despair—this is a hopeful discussion. There's plenty of low-hanging fruit (pun intended) ready to be rolled out quickly, following an initial phase of research and development.More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/dimitri-tsitos.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================👩🏻‍💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/📚 JOIN OUR VIDEO COURSE: https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/course/💪🏻 SUPPORT OUR WORK https://investinginregenag.gumroad.comShare itGive a 5-star ratingBuy us a coffee… or a meal! www.Ko-fi.com/regenerativeagriculture==========================🎙 LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL ON🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4b7mzk8c9VNM7HX5P3pM4u🎧 Apple Podcast Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more here Get your tickets here, regular tickets are sold until Feb 1st https://2025.ai4soilhealth.eu/ https://foodhub.nl/en/opleidingen/your-path-forward-in-regenerative-food-and-agriculture/ Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

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• 355 Tom Hengl - We should reward the stewards of the land like we celebrate Olympic champions

  A long-overdue check-in conversation with Tom Hengl, director at OpenGeoHub, one of the leading scientists in earth observation and remote sensing—one of the most cited in his field, belonging to the top 0.1% (based on Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers). We discuss the significant changes in the world of remote sensing, satellites, and the hype surrounding AI, machine learning, and large language models over the past three years. While the hype has brought some interesting advancements, it also distracts people from the real work that needs to be done.We delve into the AI4SoilHealth European project we are part of, discussing how we can already monitor and observe most places on Earth from the sky at a resolution of 30 by 30 meters. Importantly, we can now look back nearly 25 years for almost all locations in Europe and analyse changes on a field-by-field basis. While we might not know the individual farmers, we can identify their fields, and we can train models to make predictions and provide actionable, relevant advice.We explore the idea of celebrating farmers and land stewards who have successfully regenerated their plots of land over the past decades. But how do we shift a culture that celebrates sports over regenerative farming? Finally, we touch on the challenges holding back some of this work, including the need for reliable and affordable in situ in-field soil health analysis.More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/tom-hengl.This podcast is part of the AI 4 Soil Health project which aims to help farmers and policy makers by providing new tools powered by AI to monitor and predict soil health across Europe. For more information visit ai4soilhealth.eu.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.This work has received funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant numbers 10053484, 1005216, 1006329].This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the rThoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more here Get your tickets here, regular tickets are sold until Feb 1st https://2025.ai4soilhealth.eu/ https://foodhub.nl/en/opleidingen/your-path-forward-in-regenerative-food-and-agriculture/ Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

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  1:02:51
• 354 Dan Barber - AI-Powered natural breeding: The End of GMOs, Gene Editing, and CRISPR?

  An overdue check-in conversation with Dan Barber,  chef, co-owner of Blue Hill restaurants and co-founder of Row 7 Seeds, where we dive into the fascinating world of seeds and how breeding is evolving with the explosion of AI and other technologies. No, we don’t need GMOs, CRISPR, or other risky blunt instruments. We discuss the implosion of the fake meat hype, which was at its peak when we last spoke four years ago, why insane umami flavor and potentially self-nitrogen-fixing tomatoes are revolutionary. This is a deep conversation about bread and wheat—and why breeding wheat specifically for whole meal flour is so important, where Row 7 Seeds, his seed company, is headed and why they’re launching a CPG brand using pressure-cooked vegetables (because processing isn’t a dirty word). When your vegetables come from incredible seeds and are grown in healthy soils, you don’t need unhealthy additives. We kick things off with mouthwatering winter spinach and dive into a long conversation about the role of technology in food and agriculture. No, we shouldn’t go back to the past. No, we’re not Luddites. In fact, Dan is incredibly bullish on the role of AI in natural breeding—perhaps the best of both worlds, enabling faster breeding for local conditions rather than global crops that lack flavor, nutrients, and rely on excessive chemicals.Get ready for a firehose of stories on food, seeds, soil, and culture!More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/dan-barber-2.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================👩🏻‍💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/📚 JOIN OUR VIDEO COURSE: https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/course/💪🏻 SUPPORT OUR WORK https://investinginregenag.gumroad.comShare itGive a 5-star ratingBuy us a coffee… or a meal! www.Ko-fi.com/regenerativeagriculture==========================🎙 LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL ON🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4b7mzk8c9VNM7HX5P3pM4u🎧 Apple Podcast Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more here Get your tickets here, regular tickets are sold until Feb 1st https://2025.ai4soilhealth.eu/ https://foodhub.nl/en/opleidingen/your-path-forward-in-regenerative-food-and-agriculture/ Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

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  1:06:22

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